Making a virtue out of socially distanced necessity, SYO embraces the ‘small is beautiful’ concept with a series of chamber-sized concerts over a single day on Saturday, September the 12th.
Pre-COVID planning had SYO and Chief Conductor Alexander Briger AO performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto with SSO Concertmaster Andrew Haveron as soloist, plus the Fourth Symphony of Tchaikovsky. Now, with crowd restrictions applying both to the number of players on the Verbrugghen Hall stage and listeners in its auditorium, one big concert for symphony orchestra will become five shorter ones with smaller groups. So it’s goodbye to Brahms and Tchaikovsky; hello to Ibert, Arnold, Cage, Dvorak, Golijov, Copland, PIazzola, Reich and others.
‘Having limits on both player and audience numbers in current circumstances is quite liberating for us,’ says SYO Artistic Director Christopher Lawrence. ‘We can break ourselves down from symphony orchestra to chamber music groups without diluting our training remit. In fact, there are huge benefits for our players. We can challenge them with a broader range of repertoire and offer more individual face-to-face exposure with their Chief Conductor. The accent through our Term 3 tuition changes subtly from rank-and-file ensemble playing to a drill-down of individual technique. We’ll become a collective of soloists, if you like. The limited audience members can enjoy seeing every player enjoy his/her moment in the spotlight!’
The weeks leading up to the concert will see each section of the Orchestra preparing works under the guidance of specialist tutors who are leaders in their field, together with masterclasses along the way. The string section will rehearse a Boccherini cello concerto and Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik with Sydney Symphony Orchestra Principal Cello Umberto Clerici, who’ll also run workshops on classical sonata form and ornamentation. Andrew Haveron (SSO Concertmaster) himself will rehearse and perform the Concerto for Two Violins by Malcolm Arnold, performing as one of the soloists together with SYO Concertmaster Marcus Michelsen.
In the same vein, SYO’s wind section will play Gounod and Mozart with Bridget Bolliger; the brass assay Piazzola and Mendelssohn with Scott Kinmont; (both from Sydney Symphony Ochestra) and the percussionists stretch their soloistic skills in a thrilling contemporary music concert of Cage, Reich and First Nations composer Brenda Gifford, rehearsed with Claire Edwardes (AD of Ensemble Offspring and SYO alumna). Alexander Briger AO will conduct the mixed ensemble groups in Ibert’s Divertissement, Dvorak’s Wind Serenade, and the show-stopping Last Round by present-day Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov – tango goes troppo!
The SYO Chief Conductor has already brought his family from Paris for the SYO Chamber Music Festival, passing through mandatory fourteen-day quarantine on arrival. ‘We’re thrilled at what’s in store for players and audiences,’ says Lawrence. ‘ SYO wouldn’t be approaching any of these pieces in its standard format. There’s nowhere to hide in chamber music mode. Our musicians will be tested to the max, and they’ll work up close with some of the best in the country – well, up to a couple of meters, anyway! And it’s a great opportunity to experiment with new formats in concert presentation.’
Performance times follow – these short-form concerts will be staged at roughly two-hour intervals through the day in a festival format, and that ‘crowd’ movement can be managed safely and at leisure. Due to the social distancing and the reduced audience numbers, this concert is limited to valued families.
The whole day will be livestreamed via SYO’s Facebook page @SydneyYouthOrchestras.
THE DAY AT A GLANCE
CONCERT ONE, 11.30AM
STRINGS UMBERTO CLERICI tutor, director, soloist Mozart, Boccherini, Rota
CONCERT TWO 2PM
MIXED ENSEMBLE I ALEXANDER BRIGER AO, conductor Golijov, Dvorak
CONCERT THREE 3.30PM
MIXED ENSEMBLE II ALEXANDER BRIGER AO, conductor ANDREW HAVERON tutor soloist MARCUS MICHELSEN – SYO Concert Master, soloist Arnold, Ibert
CONCERT FOUR 5.30PM
BRASS AND PERCUSSION SCOTT KINMONT & CLAIRE EDWARDES tutors Copland, Cage, Piazzola, Brenda Gifford, Mendelssohn, Reich
CONCERT FIVE, 7.30PM
WIND AND STRINGS BRIDGET BOLLIGER, tutor Gounod, Mozart
A BIT ABOUT THE SYO:
Sydney Youth Orchestras (SYO) is the leading orchestral training and education provider in New South Wales, with a membership of over 550 young musicians, aged 6-25, placed within 13 orchestras. Sydney Youth Orchestras teaches young musicians valuable practical skills transforming students into professionals. It is the pathway for young musicians to champion orchestral music training. More information, visit ww.syo.com.au